To question why Valegro has been put to sleep?

When we take a horse on there’s an obligation to do right by that horse’s welfare - and that extends to ensuring they have a comfortable and dignified death when the time comes too.

They don’t understand tomorrow, or what it means if they’re not here in the morning. They live in the here and now. And as they get older, the here and now can be painful, cold, and a struggle. We as humans have become abhorrent at extending the life of elderly and suffering animals because we cannot imagine tomorrow without them. It’s selfish, and abusive.

To have had these horses for so long, have them underpin your life, your career, your brand, your personality, have had them there at your best days and your worst days, and then to decide to let them both leave this world quietly and with dignity at the same time whilst they were still in fairly decent health so that they never had to know a days suffering or a day without each other - THAT is responsible horsemanship. And to do it knowing that you will have the weight of a portion of the equestrian communities unreasonable judgement on you is also unfathomable as you’ve proven.

They died loved, safe, and comfortable. They will have died peacefully without worry. These were the Kings of our Sport. To think they were afforded anything less than the most honourable death, or that their death was premature, would be ridiculous.

There's a saying. It's a farming saying but it can be applied to anyone who has animals. "If you've got livestock, then you've got deadstock". You have to face the tough decisions. It's part of being a responsible owner. You have to be able to deal with the tough endings and take the pain of loss so that they don't have to.

Yes, I completely agree.

I think it’s easy to project human emotions and feelings onto them but in reality, they had spent almost two decades together as stable mates and travelling to competitions together. The retired together and spent their days together with a close bond.

Whilst to us it can seem brutal to euthanise them both if one of them might have lived for another year or so but to them, it would be brutal to carry on alone.

Both horses were Olympic gold medal champions and Valegro especially was a legend in his own right who undoubtedly inspired many. They deserved the kindest end and going together, when they would have been unaware of it, is what they got. Any pain is for those left behind who loved them but the horses are now free from it.

Like my Mum says - horses don’t understand or fear being PTS. They do understand and fear pain.

Being able to let these 2 boys have a dignified and peaceful death is the final act of kindness that Carl could give them.

Many horses die in an emergency with the vet or farmer (or whoever has a gun and can shoot) racing to the scene. It’s often not even quick to get someone to you, not like it is with racehorses who need to be shot when falling at a fence.

Lots of competition horses don’t have long lives or long retirements. Those ponies that live into their 30s or beyond are likely to be hardy with a life of walking round on a lead rein. For many horses to have any kind of retirement is a luxury. Valegro retired from competition almost a decade ago.

This.

I was there that day in Greenwich Park & saw Valegro, Uthopia, Alf, Carl, Charlotte & Laura win gold for 🇬🇧. It is the only time I have ever cried at a sporting event. RIP to both amazing horses.

As for you, OP, your post is utterly pathetic, totally ignorant & beneath contempt. You know absolutely nothing about those horses, or their health & welfare. I have absolute trust that Carl & the other owners will have made the best possible decision for them both after taking expert veterinary advice.

They had both been retired for many years.

I read something a few weeks ago that made a lot of sense - horses don’t die peaceful deaths naturally very often. They were never designed to. As a prey animal they would have never died from old age. Therefore they aren’t destined to just fall asleep one day and never wake up. Almost always a horse has to be PTS to end their suffering.

And it’s always better to be too early than too late with that decision.

Nothing to add to PP posts except to say how sad I was to read Carl's post. They were great great horses and obviously much loved by those who cared for them and also the horsey public. There is a lot wrong with the world of dressage and I am increasingly disillusioned by it, however this doesn't take from their legacy. I'll never forget watching them at the 2012 Olympics.

OP you are so far into unreasonable it’s astounding. It is absolutely none of any of our business what those health issues were. I am not blind to the issues surrounding CH and CDJ, but to insinuate that PTS for two mid-20s boys who have lived and loved life together is financially motivated because they were no longer useful is a disgrace. I put a perfectly healthy 21 year old to sleep. He was the absolute love of my life. I was his third love. His first had been my old boy lost to cancer. His second, the mare that took the old boy’s place. When she started to show signs of cancer aged only 12 I knew she wouldn’t tolerate treatment. They went together side by side heads in buckets in the autumn sun before winter took hold. My six year old could have had 12 months in prison - sorry box rest - with no guarantee of recovery. He too fell asleep in the sunshine, the grass he was chewing still in his mouth where he laid down. There are worse fates in life than a good death and the only humane response right now is to let those who loved Uti and Blueberry grieve them in peace.

Yes, this.

Hopefully it’s purely ignorance but it comes across as malicious.

I think they were both struggling and if you have two retired horses, who are bonded through two decades of being together, when you know the slightly healthier of the two is still not going to live long, the kindest thing is to let them go together.

I think they had wanted them to go together as they were very attached so I assume one was struggling in some way and they let them both go so one wasn't left without their best friend
It's a very sad day tbh. I do feel they were both very young to go but maybe they hadn't want to see them struggle

This.
There's one helluva an agenda behind the OPs post but I can't think why.

Quite a few high level performance including Olympic horses end up in less than stellar places in their old age for various reasons, its hugely sad but at least they had a lovely home and each other until the end.

I’m so sorry.

As the saying goes, better a day too soon than a day too late.

Well that would explain it if one became no longer field sound and the other no teeth and therefore likely struggling with weight and/or high colic risk. I had an old one with hardly any teeth and it gets to the point where it's not fair to try and keep them going. I wish I'd had put her down sooner. As it was I ended up sat in the mud cradling her head because she had colic with the vet on speed dial begging them to get to me asap and end it. Far better if they were both borderline to let them go together in a controlled fashion.

Carl was on record some time ago saying Valegro had sore feet and Uthophia didn’t have any teeth left. They were not pets or horses who had been used as happy hacker with some light competition work. They were both ultimate athletics and worked very hard doing movements that likely caused arthritis.

Despite your misunderstanding about their life expectancy, a Dutch Warmblood horse typically lives to be early twenties.

Horses are herd animals and it’s an act of kindness to let two retired companions die at the same time. Horses don’t know about the future, they only know how they feel in that moment.

It's a good age for warmbloods who have had a physically hard career. It's no one's business what was physically wrong with them. The owners presumably supported by their vets made a decision in the best interests of both horses.

I’ll post the tribute Carl did as it’s beautiful

Sleep well Blueberry and Uti, two of the greatest horses of our generation.

It is with immense sadness that we have said goodbye to Valegro and Uthopia and without question, this is a loss that just feels hard to comprehend.

Trying to write a tribute to these two horses feels harder than I imagined. The yard just doesn’t feel the same without them, there’s an emptiness in the air.

Valegro and Uthopia did more than win medals and write history, they gave our sport a golden era. They both showed that greatness can be gentle, sensitive and harmonious and they made a nation proud and inspired so many.

Being part of their journey will always remain one of my proudest achievements and the whole team and myself are deeply grateful for the joy they gave to us at home but also to their fans around the world.

Their entire lives ran in parallel; they travelled to the shows side by side, lived in neighbouring stables, grazed in the same fields and retired together. Their bond and companionship were absolute.

As life as old boys advanced, so too did the health challenges, so allowing them to leave this world together was the final act of loyalty and dignity I felt I could give them, honouring a partnership that had never been separated in life.

They leave behind a huge void, and the yard has changed forever and so have we. They were our family and I will love and miss them always. The impact they had will remain but sadly, we don’t get to keep horses forever.
We only get to carry what they leave inside us. And these two left us so much.

Carl x

I lost one of mine in an emergency and it was horrific.
in hindsight I should have had my other pts at the same time as they had spent 19 years together and she’s just not the same pony as she was. She misses him dreadfully even though I found her a new companion. I just couldn’t face it in that awful moment - but would have undoubtedly been kinder to her (she’s currently 27, absolutely ok, but just …. Sad 😢)

Soundness issues i imagine.
Early 20s for a very hard working, top athlete horse is very good going.
Its about quality of life and im sure Carl, the vets and their owners didn't make the decision lightly

YABU to assume everyone knows what the hell you're on about!

having read other people's posts I now have a fair idea.

but no idea why you think you know better than the owner.

Next time you start a thread, consider providing some information & context.

It's making me so angry because every article I've read just says that as they aged their health issues increased but what health issues? Why isn't there any information on what was wrong?

Do you really expect every article to give a full medical history? They're reporting what they've been told. The owner is under no obligation to make any statement at all!

This.